Airtime-Aware Scheduling for Wireless LAN Fairness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems, such as WLANs, face challenges in ensuring fair airtime distribution among terminals, leading to scenarios where some terminals dominate airtime allocation, depriving others of resources due to varying link budgets and quality-of-service (QoS) differences.
Innovation Solution
The method involves an Access Point (AP) assessing aggregate airtime usage for each terminal, scheduling transmissions based on Minimum Aggregate Airtime (MAAT) to ensure fair distribution, and incorporating Quality-of-Service (QoS) classes and traffic categories through weighted scheduling, while also managing uplink and downlink airtime to prevent terminal overload.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional scheduling schemes are used in WLAN AP, then transmission simplicity is maintained, but airtime distribution becomes unfair and some terminals dominate resource allocation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the AP monitors airtime consumption of each terminal and uses this information to adjust scheduling decisions. The system tracks cumulative airtime usage and feeds this back into the scheduling algorithm to prevent any single terminal from dominating channel access, thereby achieving fair airtime distribution while maintaining manageable complexity through structured feedback loops.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes scheduling parameters by introducing airtime-aware metrics and adjusting transmission opportunities based on monitored airtime consumption. The system dynamically modifies scheduling parameters such as transmission slot allocation and channel access opportunities based on real-time airtime usage patterns, enabling fair resource distribution without requiring complete redesign of the scheduling framework.
2Reliability
If airtime-aware scheduling is implemented to ensure fair distribution, then resource allocation fairness improves, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scheduling problem by maintaining separate airtime counters and tracking structures for each terminal individually. This segmentation allows the system to compute fair scheduling decisions for multiple terminals in parallel, reducing overall computational complexity compared to evaluating all possible scheduling combinations simultaneously. Each terminal's airtime consumption is tracked and processed independently, enabling scalable implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing airtime consumption metrics for each terminal before making scheduling decisions. The system maintains running totals of airtime usage and prepares scheduling candidates in advance, reducing the computational burden during actual scheduling moments. This preliminary tracking and preparation of airtime data simplifies the decision-making process while ensuring fair resource allocation.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A method for communication includes accepting in an Access Point (AP - 24) data items for transmission over a wireless channel to multiple terminals (28) served by the AP. Aggregate airtimes, which were previously allocated to the respective terminals on the wireless channel, are assessed. Transmission of the data items is scheduled depending on the aggregate airtimes.